I is for International Tracing Service

This is a key letter for the Family History Through the Alphabet challenge. Not for the letter itself, but for the subject matter. The International Tracing Service can be the key to unlocking one’s family history – if your family emigrated from Latvia in the post-Second World War period.

I’ve already talked about the ITS on this blog, but their importance cannot be stated enough. What are they? In short, they are an organization that preserves documents relating to individuals in the the Second World War and post-Second World War era, and what happened to these individuals. Their webpage states that they serve “victims of Nazi persecutions and their families by documenting their fate”, but they do more than that as well – many documents relate to victims of Soviet oppression and those fleeing the Soviet occupation – the category in which many post-war Latvian migrants fall. While they are a German institution, they also have documents on people who were in Displaced Persons Camps outside of Germany – for example, I have successfully obtained information about my grandmother’s time in Denmark from them.

Why are these documents key for those tracing their ancestors who emigrated at this time? Well, if you were an emigrant from Latvia at this time period, you were one of millions of Displaced Persons from all across Eastern Europe. Almost all of these individuals will have transited through a Displaced Persons camp at some point during this time period (I’d say “all”, but I’m sure there may be exceptions – I have yet to see any though), which means a record would have been created for that person. The ITS will have copies of these documents.

These documents could provide a variety of information, but at their most basic level, they would provide the name and birthdate, ethnicity, citizenship, place of birth and last place of residence in the home country. Many documents will also state occupations, family members they are traveling with, names of parents (sometimes including maiden names), previous Displaced Persons camps they lived in, what the Displaced Person’s goal is – resettlement elsewhere, repatriation, etc. and the end result of that – usually the name of the ship and date that they traveled from Europe to their new home. If you’re really lucky, you could also end up with family letters, essays describing why they left and what they want to do now, essays describing where they were during the war and what they were doing (usually to prove that they hadn’t been complicit in Nazi war crimes), and a variety of other documents.

The only downside to the ITS is that it can take a long time for them to fill your request. So don’t delay – go here, read it, and then fill in the online application right away. The key to unlocking your family history might be there waiting for you!

H is for Hinzugekommen/Abgegangen

Heading into German words now for the Family History Through the Alphabet challenge! Though I’m cheating – there are two words here instead of one, because they are inseparable when it comes to Latvian (and Estonian) genealogical resources. Since Estonian territory had the same sort of administrative structure as Latvian territory in this time period, this advice applies to Estonian ancestors as well.

Were your Latvian or Estonian ancestors landless farmhands, who had to move around from estate to estate to find new work on a regular basis? Or maybe you’ve been tracing your family back, and you’ve lost your ancestors somewhere along the way? If so, then these words are very important to you!

“Hinzugekommen” and “Abgegangen” are the German words for two concepts for the revision list supplements – “Hinzugekommen” means “incoming” and “Abgegangen” means “outgoing”. The revision list supplements list all of the people who entered or left an estate in any given year. They provide a variety of other information as well, but most importantly, they mention where the family came from or went to, and when. They will also mention ages, sometimes birthdates, and other people who may have been traveling with the family. Keep an eye out for these people, because they might prove useful later – could be an in-law, or a sibling, or a niece or nephew.

Their greatest advantage, however, is that they cover the time periods that aren’t otherwise covered by revision lists. Revision lists end in 1858 (though keep an eye out, on some estates this might have been 1857 or 1859 instead), meanwhile the incoming/outgoing supplements can sometimes take you right up to the beginning of the First World War. Not all of them do, some don’t go past the 1870s, but you might be lucky and get the whole time period.

Now, these records are not foolproof. Just like with any record, sometimes people were missed. For example, neither the incoming/outgoing registers for MilÄ«te estate or Nabe estate mention my great-great-grandfather Roberts Francis leaving MilÄ«te or arriving in Nabe sometime in the early 1880s. Sometimes you’ll only get them on one side of the incoming/outgoing equation. But they are an indispensable resource nonetheless due to everything that they do contain.

Have incoming/outgoing registers played a big part in your family research? Do you know other countries that have had similar lists or registers? Share your stories!

Tombstone Tuesday – Lilija Margareta BÄ“rziņa, 1917-1919

In this series, I am providing pictures of tombstones from Latvian cemeteries, all with death dates prior to 1945. I do not have any further information on the people mentioned.

Inscription: “Å e dus izdzisusi zvaigznÄ«te” (Here sleeps an extinguished star – though poetically speaking, probably “fallen star” works better)

Name: Lilija Margareta Bērziņa, born May 6, 1917, died August 1, 1919.

Location: Meža kapi (“Forest Cemetery”), RÄ«ga.

Transcription is in modern orthography. Photo taken by me, April 2012.

WW1 Diary – July 8, 1915

Fourth installment from the diary of my great-grandfather’s sister Alise, written during the First World War, just a few miles from the front lines of the Eastern Front. For the background, see here.

July 8, 1915

Today hundreds of refugees passed by our house. Across the Daugava it is like a market square, or a terrible Jurgi day [NB: spring/summer festival in late April/early May to celebrate the beginning of the farm season]. People have animals, bundles, some wagons are packed with old ladies and little children. When we ask them where they are going, they answer – we don’t know, we’re just going. Yes, …(indecipherable)… ours… On the Kurzeme side we hear cannons. A lot of them. It is time for us to pack.

Ģ is for Ģenerālgubernators

This next Family History Through the Alphabet challenge is a bit tricky, but I found something that works – Ä¢enerālgubernators. This means “governor general” in Latvian. Canadian readers will be familiar with this term as the Queen’s representative in Canada. In Imperial Russian parlance, the governor-general was the highest authority in a governorate (guberniya) of the Russian Empire, answering to the Czar. This was also a military post.

In the Baltic provinces, the governors-general were usually German or Russian. I have already mentioned two exceptions to this rule – Irishmen Peter de Lacy and George Browne. A third exception is Philip Osipovich Paulucci, an Italian marquis who also had military experience in the French and Piedmontese service in addition to Russian service. In the governorate of Estonia, we also have Gustaf Otto Douglas, a Swede of Scottish extraction. Gustaf’s grandfather, Robert Douglas, who was born in East Lothian, Scotland, was also a military governor in the Baltics during the Swedish period in the 17th century.

Next up in the Alphabet challenge… more German and Latvian words, as well as a variety of new Latvian surnames!

WW1 Diary – July 7, 1915

Third installment from the diary of my great-grandfather’s sister Alise, written during the First World War, just a few miles from the front lines of the Eastern Front. For the background, see here.

July 7, 1915

We are all very worried, since we need to prepare to evacuate and flee if the government so directs. People from Kurzeme have already partially cleared out. When leaving their dear farmstead, everyone has to destroy the fields, all of their property, and take to the road, to an uncertain future. Terrible! In time we won’t have it any better. Now we’ve settled in, we’re not lacking anything, but now we’ll have to leave everything, and leave it to be destroyed. What can we bring with us? What with our small children, my Dagiņa, there will barely be a drop of milk for the child. My heart tires – best not to think about it.

G is for Germans

What’s next in the Family History Through the Alphabet challenge? Germans!

Germans and the German language have a long history in Latvia. Ever since the first bishops of Bremen came to Latvian territory in the late 12th century to Christianize the local populations, Germans have been coming to the Baltics. Today, however, they are mostly tourists, as the local German population was dramatically reduced after the Second World War.

While Latvian territory was officially controlled by a number of different foreign powers over the centuries, the local power players – that is, the gentry and bureaucracy – were predominantly German until Latvian independence. As such, the language of bureaucracy – that is, the language of document creation – was predominantly German until Imperial Russian decrees forced them to switch to Russian in 1891. That is why within a year or two of this date you’ll see German switch to Russian.

After independence, while the German barons lost their special privileges and most of their estates, they became citizens of a new Latvia. Until Hitler came to power and invited Germans outside of Germany to return to Germany, they were content to remain in the land that their families had lived in for generations.

At this time, many German Latvians left for Germany. And those who stayed? Most left when Soviet power returned, either by force or by choice. Millions of Germans from all over what would become the Soviet Union were expelled after the Second World War.

And with these events, the almost 800 year history of Germans in Latvia came to an end.

Do you have ancestors that are Baltic Germans? Share their stories here!

F is for Flight of the Wild Geese

Some of you may look at the title for this Family History Through the Alphabet challenge post and wonder if you’re on the right blog. After all, what does an Irish Jacobite army have to do with Latvia?

As it turns out, quite a bit. I won’t go into all of the specifics of the Flight of the Wild Geese, you can read about it on Wikipedia here, but the short version is that after the end of the Williamite war in Ireland and the Treaty of Limerick, the “Wild Geese” were Jacobite soldiers (and their families) who were permitted to leave Ireland to go to France and serve in the French army. France was the country where their deposed Catholic king James II was living. While they started out as Irish units in the French army, many soldiers departed for places across Europe to serve in other continental armies.

The “Wild Goose” of particular note to Latvia is Peter de Lacy, originally from Killeedy, County Limerick. His continental service began with the French, and then he joined the Austrians after the death of several relatives in the French service. After two years in the Austrian service, he moved to the Russian service.

He fought in the Great Northern War, and was supposedly the first Russian officer to enter RÄ«ga after its conquest. He rose through the ranks of the Russian army, and in 1729 was named the Governor of RÄ«ga. After several military campaigns in the Russo-Turkish War, where he was elevated to Field Marshal, he returned to the Baltics, where he was governor of Livland until his death in 1751.

Peter de Lacy was succeeded as governor of Livland by another Wild Goose, George Browne of Camas, County Limerick. Browne had served with Lacy in the Russian military.

Do you have any stories of Irish “Wild Geese” in any continental service? Any that made it to the Russian Empire? Share your family stories here!

Wordless Wednesday – Latvian Composers and Song Festival

(click image to enlarge)

Monument to Latvian composers at Viesturdārzs (“Viesturs Park”) in northern RÄ«ga, also the oldest park in the city (1711). It was the site of the first Latvian Song Festival, at the end of June, 1873. The monument was built in 1973, at the 100th anniversary of the song festival, and modified in the 1990s to remove Soviet references and add the panel with Kārlis Baumanis and his composition “Dievs, svÄ“tÄ« Latviju!” – the Latvian national anthem. (Photo taken by me, April 2012.)

WW1 Diary – June 27, 1915

Second installment from the diary of my great-grandfather’s sister Alise, written during the First World War, just a few miles from the front lines of the Eastern Front. For the background, see here.

June 27, 1915

My thirtieth birthday. Already!! I haven’t lived in vain. I am at peace in my life. There is enough of everything. How many acquaintances and relatives are already past thirty, and are already in the breeze… I got 100 rubles from the husband for a piano.